The Thermals
The Body, The Blood, The Machine
: 2006

"But I'm turning around/I'm gonna crawl/Back to the ocean I know/Back to the ocean I need/Back to the sea/And all I need to evolve/Is to believe"

The Body, The Blood, The Machine has something it wants you to hear from its opening seconds--"God reached his hand down from the sky/He flooded the land then he set it afire." Much has been made of the fact that this is not a concept album we hold in our hands, but listen with open ears--and take a good look at the amazing album art-- and you will understand that the Thermals have an agenda (or a small axe to grind) on their newest album. Loosely based on the theme of a "United States governed by a fascist Christian state," (hmm...what could have possibly spurred that idea? Certainly inspiration wasn't drawn from our own current sad state of affairs...) these songs often paint a bleak, desolate picture filled with fire and brimstone and the struggle to keep ourselves intact despite the "sheep" mentality of the majority--the blind leading the blind and the neverending hunger for power and greed by a few that often feeds the corruption of the whole.--" 'Cause God is with us/ And our god is the richest/Our power doesn't run on nothing/It runs on blood/And blood is easy to obtain/When you have no shame." ("Power Doesn't Run On Nothing") The only way to break free is to escape; hope requires faith (not in a higher power but in ourselves), and most importantly, hope requires action--a thread that runs throughout the album.

 We can't forget the music here, though, as it is the conduit that channels TBTBTM's words and ties them up with a big blustery bow. Not as dirty/low-fi sounding as the previous two albums, the sound is bright and dynamic, fiery and ferocious--something that the Thermals have always excelled at capturing, but really step into the light with this album (produced by Fugazi's Brendan Canty.) Intensity has not been lost here. Instead, the songs just have more room to breathe. Still two steps away from the verge of collapse, they have a bigger space to develop and expand, incorporating big, heavy barrages of guitar and organ sound as well as new drummer Caitlin Love's tight, explosive drumming. Songs like the fantastic " A Pillar of Salt" (note imagery here) are immediately and fiercely poppy, and "Back to the Sea", with its screechy beginning, punky rhythms, and in-your-face lyrics reaches anthem status. Lead singer Hutch covers more vocal ground with his distinctively nasal delivery--yes, he still yelps and spits and growls, but he also takes his time and croons on the beautiful almost* ballad-y "Test Pattern." Fast paced and furiously catchy, the Thermals three (Harris, the awesome Kathy Foster on bass, and Love) have created a small explosion in TBTBTM. Despite the dire outlook, there is still joy to be found in the music--a call to arms that says yeah, the world's heading in an extremely dangerous direction, but we're going to have a damn good time pulling ourselves out of the flames/wreckage (we just have to wake up and want to do so.)

*almost because it's done Thermals style. Even with its ballad-esque nature, there's still enough grit to keep things kickass.